Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine stand before the House Appropriations Committee in Washington on May 12, 2026. The Pentagon is asking for $80 billion to cover the costs of the Iran war, according to recent reports from The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal. (Eric Brann/U.S. Navy)
The Pentagon is seeking $80 billion to help cover the costs of the Iran war, according to recent news reports that put the price tag far higher than the estimate given to lawmakers last month.
The funding request came during phone calls last week from Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg to lawmakers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was also making the rounds Monday on Capitol Hill as the administration prepared what could become a contentious funding request, according to The Associated Press.
Since the start of the war on Feb. 28, lawmakers have raised concerns about its costs, especially the need to replenish critical munitions stockpiles that might be needed elsewhere in the world.
During congressional testimony last month, Hegseth told lawmakers that the total cost of the war had risen to about $29 billion.
The majority of that was related to operational costs for deployed forces and did not include the cost to repair or rebuild U.S. military bases damaged during the conflict, U.S. officials said.
The new funding request remains well below the initial $200 billion estimate laid out by the Pentagon at the start of the war.
The funding request comes as some lawmakers continue to question the legal basis for the war with Iran. Last week, the Senate tried and failed for a ninth time to advance a war powers resolution aiming to halt the conflict.
The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum last week to end the war and enter into a 60-day period of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told the AP that he is expecting a supplemental spending request and will work through it when it arrives.
The U.S. needs to make sure it is doing everything it can to restock its munitions supply, Thune said. Defense officials earlier this year warned that they could start running out of money for operations this summer if Congress did not authorize a new wartime spending bill, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, told members of Congress last month that he might have to change training, operations or certification events in response to a cash shortage.
The supplemental funding proposal must still be approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget before it goes to Congress.
The Pentagon’s current fiscal year budget is about $1 trillion, and President Donald Trump has requested a $1.5 trillion allocation for fiscal year 2027.
Hegseth authored an op-ed in the New York Post on Tuesday in which he defended the Pentagon’s “fiscal discipline” and said the greatest threat to national security is underinvestment in military spending.
He made no mention of the reported $80 billion funding request but argued that American defense spending is critical to ensuring economic stability at home.
“When America is unchallenged militarily, economic possibilities abound: We borrow cheaply, transact freely and set the terms of global trade,” Hegseth wrote. “Without that military power, all this becomes uncertain — because instability and volatility do vast damage to markets, investments and ultimately American jobs.”
